Wings of Liberation
by MrRodent
Summary: He had only signed up to do his part in the defense of humanity. Instead, he gets more. From ME1 to ME3 through the eyes of a fighter squadron, and what they face. An author always needs reviews to correct his mistakes and move on. Please help me in this regard.
1. Chapter 1

_London, Early 2183._

It was raining in London.

Now, that was not an uncommon occurence, and the inhabitants were used to the drizzle. Sharp lights and contours were dimmed somewhat, making the world a blur. There was a time where rain could slow down or affect traffic. Now, not so much. Skycars and shuttles zoomed amongst tall skyscrapers, undaunted by the gloomy sky.

A man sat in one of the taxis. Strong jaw, a sharp nose and cropped black hair gave him an intent look. A look he was busily directing out the window. The Taxi Driver, as is the custom, kept glancing backwards at him, particularly his crisp navy blue uniform. He mulled that over for a few minutes, then broke the silence.

"You Alliance?" He said.

The man, startled out of his intent gazing skywards, took a moment to respond.

"Soon, I hope. I'm just out of training right now."

His voice was slightly on the heavier side, but he spoke quickly enough, with not many traces of an accent. The Driver tipped his hat in respect, causing his passenger to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"What was that for?"

"Hey, you got to respect the blues. Galaxy's a dangerous place, or so I hear...full of wierd looking aliens and stuff.."

The man laughed.

"Galaxy's a big place, enough room for all of us I imagine."

"Uh, I guess."

That stilled conversation for a while. The Alliance recruit fidgeted a little. He hated to admit it, but he was nervous. Nearly a year of intensive training and this was the conclusion. What would happen? He'd been given enough hints and rumors, but most of them were trash. There was only one way to find out.

The cab swooped down near the outskirts of London, in front of an impressive security barricade, Alliance logos everywhere. This was UK HQ.

He got off, and paid the driver. Preparing to go in, he took a deep breath.

_Let's do this..._

"Hey man.."

It was the driver.

"What is it?"

"I clear forgot to ask your name even."

"Whatever for?"

The driver chuckled nervously. "Hell, who knows, someday you might become a hero, like Commander Shepard..."

The man shook his head.

"Nicholas Falkland. And I'm not even a marine, so I doubt I'll be committing any heroics..."

He chuckled, and walked in.

UK HQ was...large.

_"That's all I can come up with..." _Nicholas thought to himself ruefully. He had been called for unit induction and preliminary briefing in Hangar A-16. Judging from his omni-tool, where a nav point was flashing insistently, he had a way to go.

Walking, he saw all the hustle and bustle of a Galactic military. Marines drilling on a deck opposite, technicians running sims, repairing and fine-tuning ships and shuttles...It was almost too much to take in. Nicholas was used to it, on a smaller scale, but he could still appreciate the precision of it all.

Hangar A-16 was a fighter deck, seemed. Walking in, Nicholas went face to face with one of the loves of his life.

A new, shiny, F-61 Trident. Although the "old workhorse", as it was often dubbed, was outclassed by many other ships in their specific roles, it was still the most used multipurpose fighter in the Alliance.

_Sharp profile, narrow cockpit, forcing you to fly in a semi-recline. eezo core can give it some really sharp turns, and the four M-661 Pitviper cannons give it a real oomph up front. Dropping missiles from the M-234 "Big Betty" is a tad tricky, considering it's position just below and behind the cockpit, but if you get a decent lock, you'll get the frag._

Nicholas was so absorbed that he didn't even notice a figure slide next to him until it had patted him on the shoulder. He turned sharply, startling the other guy.

"Relax. Just saw you appreciating the '61. I'm guessing you're one of the recruits?"

Nicholas rubbed the back of his head ruefully.

"Yeah, guess so. I was asked to look for Flight lieutenant McArthur..."

The man smiled slightly, showing even white teeth in a dark face. Nick noted that the man was short, but well-built. That and his face and voice showed an indian subcontinental background.

"So was I, surprisingly. McArthur was waiting on the last recruit, some Falkland...I guess that's you?"

Nick grimaced inwardly. _Guess I was late after all._

"That's me. Let's not keep him waiting any longer than necessary..."

The other man smiled, then motioned to follow.

"I'm Vishnu Mahendra, by the way", he said by way of introduction.

Nick gave himself a mental nod, then replied. "You know me" he said, grinning.

Vishnu shrugged. "I'm sure I will, in time...ah, there's the Lt."

A tall, brawny man was walking quickly to and fro. He didn't look too happy.

_With that face, I doubt he'll ever look happy..._McArthur had a face that seemed all planes and angles, with very little spare flesh left. It was a slightly terrifying look, coupled with his frown and sharp gait, made him the stuff used to scare recruits everywhere.

Vishnu made the introductions. McArthur's frown deepened.

"Falkland. Took your damn time. Vishnu, grab the others and form 'em up. I don't want to spend more time on this than necessary."

Vishnu hurried away, and Nick took the chance to withdraw with him. Falkland was certainly intimidating. If he was to be their initial squadron leader, Nick anticipated rough times ahead. He had fought tooth and nail for this chance though, and just an intimidating look was not going to make him go away.

He joined the parade line that Vishnu was forming, and noticed there were only four, him and Vishnu included. Usually there were more. There was very little time to ponder this, however, as McArthur had already launched into the "big speech."

"For many years, the Systems Alliance has safeguarded human interests in the face of many threats. Against Turians and Batarians have we fought, and we've never relented. Remember this, recruits. We're the unifying face of humanity, we are it's shield and we are it's strength. Remember this as you join the ranks of the military."

Despite his initial indifference, Nick found that he was listening with rapt attention. McArthur knew what he was doing.

"The Alliance military is a seamless amalgam of ground and space might, mobile and stationary assets. We all work together. If we are to carry out our task with any semblance of efficiency, we must work together, with respect. You four, are fighter pilots. You have trained with the best, amongst the best on Arcturus, but it's time for the real test. You will now fly real patrols, and work on the most important part of a war machine...cooperation."

Nick was nodding grimly. He had a feeling the others were as well.

"You are some of the finest pilots, or so the instructors say...only time will tell. I'm sure you're wondering why there aren't more of you standing around. The reason is simple. We believe that you four may have what it takes to form a specialised strike squadron."

He raised his hand here, before continuing.

"Don't get swelled heads. Plenty of talent has come and gone, and if you want to survive and earn your stripes, you'll have to train, and give your all to us. To the Alliance. Is that clear?"

A chorus of "Yes Sir!" answered him. McArthur actually grinned here, and said the clincher.

"Let's show the Galaxy that Humanity ain't a pushover."

The four nodded intently. Nick could feel the tell-tale surge of adrenaline.

"Now then, Prepare to ship out. Your first base of ops will be Eden Prime. The crown of humanity's colonisation efforts. Consider it an honor to be part of it's defense. Any questions?"

Nick couldn't believe this. _Eden Prime? Nothing ever happens on Eden Prime. I was expecting a combat posting. Not a fucking backwater job._

He said as much to the Lieutenant. McArthur frowned at him, then walked up until he was almost nose to nose with Nick.

"Are you questioning orders, recruit?"

Nick wanted to fight, to question, to resist. It was hard to do any of that with your CO staring you in the face, so he just nodded.

McArthur maintained the glare for what seemed an eternity.

"Don't."

With that, he was walking off, and Nick was left slightly shaky and thoroughly confused by it all.

_Eden Prime it is, then..._

* * *

_**A/N: Here we go...Next chapter, straight into the action, and the beginnings of Nick's journey. I hope you will enjoy the journey.**  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Aurora Military Spaceport, Eden Prime, 3 Months later.

The insistent ringing of an alarm clock woke Nick up from a restless sleep. Lifting his head blearily, he looked at the clock.

5.00 AM.

He shook himself wearily, and prepared for the ordeal of getting up. He was never the greatest of sleepers, and waking up was an ordeal for him.

That's why I have the bloody alarm an hour before needed. Gives me time to return to the world of the living. Come on Nick, rise and shine you fucking shit.  
Wearily he dragged his unwilling body to the shower. Only when he was completely drenched by a blast of icy cold water did he feel alive again. Scrubbing himself thoroughly with a towel, he looked into the mirror.

be flight worthy in a bit. Small mercy the Alliance has independent rooms for us, however small. I don't think I can withstand conversation just after waking up...

He reached into the cabinet and withdrew his fatigues. Looking at them still gave him a small burst of pride. Crisp, navy blue, with "Recruit Nicholas Falkland" etched in a darker hue on the breast. Of course, a sour thought about his current posting came soon after. Nick suppressed it.

Not today.

Feeling fit, he finally stepped out into the general compound. Eden Prime was an inner rim colony, so there was considerably less activity here, even on the main Base of Operations for the world, than a world like Mindoir. That, coupled with the early hour meant that only a few would be up and about.

He decided to head for Vishnu's room first. Nick had been hesitant about bothering anyone with his sleep issues and routine, but Vishnu had found him one morning...

* * *

The air blowing around his ears felt good.

Nick was jogging, waiting for the sun to rise. Every lap around the compound made him feel better and better. Eden Prime was not called the Crown Colony of Humanity for nothing. Fresh, natural air, pleasant temperatures, and the blessed quiet. Funny how one observed such things. The horizon was lightening, soon the sun would be up and about.

Then, out of the corner of his eye he spied a figure, coming from one of the residentials. Nick tried to identify him, but he was too far away. He subtly altered his course so he'd go near the early riser. Being a military base, it was operated 24/7, as the old saying goes, but the night shift only turned in at around 7 am, when the morning shift took over. it was 5.30 AM. So who could it be...

As he went closer, the figure went on his knees and knelt in the direction of the sun, which was rising. He then emptied a small pot of...something, on the ground in front of him.

the hell is he doing?

"Oi, Vish!" he said loudly.

Vishnu turned sharply, startled by the call. He relaxed immediately, seeing who it was.

"Good morning, Nick. What brings you up so early?"

Nick stopped beside his squad mate, and breathed in heavily. It took him a moment to respond.

"Jogging, Vish. The bigger question is, what the hell were you doing just now?"

Vishnu appeared surprised at the question, but composed himself quickly.

"Surya Namaskar, Nick. It's an old tradition we in the sub-continent follow, to greet the sun as it rises. It makes me feel at peace."

Nick grinned in appreciation.

"Well, I can relate to that tradition a bit. Most sunrises are awesome to look at."

Vishnu squinted at him, not really buying what Nick had said, but letting it pass.

"Why are you jogging at this hour, Nick? Henry and Samantha are still sleeping I imagine, taking the extra rest we all need. And McArthur will make us warm up before we can begin our patrol anyways."

Nick shrugged ruefully.

"Can't sleep, Vish. Old problem of mine. Jogging helps me clear my mind, you see? So I don't feel like a bloody zombie in the morning."

Vish nodded in perfect understanding.

"Well, feel free to look me up if you need someone to talk to in these mornings. I'm an early riser."

Nick grinned. That was an appealing suggestion.

"Sure."

* * *

Vishnu was nowhere to be found today, however. Considering the gloomy sky, he'd probably decided there would be no sunrise , and went off for breakfast. Nick processed that, and went outside to finish his jogging routine...

Two hours and a hasty breakfast later, he was at the take-off tube. Instead of landing strips like in the old days, modern militaries now used catapult 'tubes' to fire fighters off at high speed, limiting their chances of being attacked while taking off. His squadmates were already there, of course. Damn them and their punctuality.

He tapped Henry on the arm. Henry turned precisely. He did everything precisely. Nick had found out, much to his chagrin, that Henry Stokeworth was very different from what he was used to. Precise of speech, precise of movement, very tall...and with a face to make girls swoon. It was hard not to be jealous.

"Yes, Nicholas?"

"Nothing, you ready?"

Henry snorted.

"It's been the same routine for a while now, so of course."

Nick shrugged. "Sure doesn't seem like normal training though. I mean, we've been flying 8 or 10 hour patrols on more or less a daily basis. That too, over Eden Prime, of all things. What the hell is the point...?"

Henry shrugged. "I would trust in Command, if I were you. They aren't incompetent fools..." His voice left little doubt as to who the incompetent fool really was... Nick shrugged it off though.

"We'll see then. Let me armor up" Nick said, walking away. He looked at his standard alliance armor, thinking, when a voice spoke.

"You might want to get ready, Nick." The voice belonged to Samantha Marquez. Exotic name, with an exotic appearance. Wavy black hair framed a sharp featured face. She wouldn't be called beautiful, but certainly pretty.

"Huh, right. Thanks Sam."

He hurriedly put the Armor on. Pilots had to wear Armor because the G-Forces sustained during flying ships today would crush a human body without the assistance an Armor suit could provide. He put his helmet on, and joined his squadron, where McArthur was just detailing the patrol plan.

Launch, Loop from the Eastern Mountain range over the main settlement, then back to base. Got it, Sir.  
After all these months, the F-61 felt like an old friend to him. He quickly ran pre-launch  
checks, and waited. Soon enough, McArthur's gravelly voice came over the comms.

"Aurora Flight Control, this is Sabre-One, requesting flight clearance for me and my wing..."

"This is Flight Control. Permission granted, Sabre-One. Syncing you up with tac-comms now."

"Roger, Sabre-One, connecting to Tac-Comm."

Nick knew that was his call to speak.

"Sabre-Two, connecting to Tac-Comm."

"Sabre-Three, connecting to Tac-Comm", Henry said.

"Sabre-Four, connecting to Tac-Comm", Vishnu said.

"Sabre-Five, connecting to Tac-Comm", Samantha said.

"All connections confirmed, launch status is green, you are clear to launch, Sabres."

Time for the thrill, Nick thought, even as the catapult siezed his ship and ejected it at a breakneck speed. Nick activated engines just as he was about to exit the tube, and was airborne immediately.

"Sabre-One, I'm clear and ready", he said over comms...

* * *

"Looks beautiful from here, doesn't it?" Henry said.

I'll have to admit that it does... Nick thought. They were flying steady at an atitude of five thousand metres, and spread out below them were lush green forests. Eden Prime was really a well maintained world.

A nice retirement retreat, a cozy place to get married and raise children...heh.  
McArthur said very little on flights these days. Initially he had been harsh, as was his wont as an instructor, but as the pilots gradually began to get used to the entire ordeal, he had relaxed. Perhaps they had all passed some unseen test in his eyes.

Marquez for sure. Flies like a damn Eagle.

In training, Nick had learned an important thing. Good fighter pilots flew their ships like they had been taught. Great fighter pilots flew them like they handled themselves. That had been proven right.

Marquez is unpredictable, Henry is precise and elegant, and Vishnu's flying style is solid. And me...? Hell, I don't know half the time, but it works for least, so far...

A glance at the radar broke him out of his reverie. There was...something, a few hundred kilometres away.

"Sabre-One, reading some anomalies on medium range" He said.

"I see it Two. Re-routing to Tactical..."

Tactical came online after a brief pause. "There are multiple signatures, Sabre One. Can't make out what, some sort of shielding. Recommend closing in and investigating...Placing Aurora on priority level two."

"Roger that. Wing, stagger out at my twelve O'clock. Let's go and find out" McArthur ordered.

The five F-61s assumed an Arrow formation, and increased speed, going at nearly seven hundred kiometres per hour.

"Wonder what it is, Nick?" Vishnu asked.

"Hell yeah, but it's probably just another training drill, y'know."

"This isn't a drill, Falkland" McArthur said sharply.

That shut everyone up for the few minutes it took to close distance with the anomalies.

"Looks like fighters...doesn't match any ship type I've seen though...anyone of you recognise them?", McArthur said, in tones of surprise.

Nick pulled up his scans. Strange, Bug like of them. Doesn't look like anything I've seen before though...

"Might be something I read at one time, sir..." Henry said, but McArthur cut him off.

"We can't wait around till you remember. I'm hailing the craft, be ready for anything."

Nick's hands involuntarily tightened on his controls.

"Unknown fighter wing, this is Systems Alliance wing Sabre...State your intentions."

The only response was a slight mechanical, clicking sound before the fighters opened fire. McArthur swerved and dodged the first volley, but the second hit his F-61 full on the right wing, blowing it up. His ship, out of control, fell from the sky...

Shit! Hell of a way to state your intentions..

"I'll be % % fin-#%^, Falkla-#^#...Take comman#^#" Those were the final transmissions from McArthur's falling ship.

I'll be damned...Well I'll not gonna make this fucking easy on the bugs...

"Sabres! Spread and Engage, Marking your target now!"

"You bet!" Samantha said sharply. The others just swerved their fighters and turned on the target.

Nick noted a few things immediately. The enemy fighters seemed slower and heavier than their own F-61s, and that their cannon fire was very accurate. He registered a few shots, and felt his kinetic barriers taking the impact. He sharply veered left, then right. The fighter on his tail was a persistent son of a bitch though...

"We'll get nowhere with this, Falkland!" Henry shouted.

"Damn right! Henry, Sam, distract the others...Vish, bait the target"

"What?" Vish said.

"Close into it! Now!"

Vishnu's fighter changed course and started closing with the target. The bug like fighter took the bait and swerved, all guns opening up on Vishnu. He rolled his fighter, trying to avoid the fire, but took a lot of hits...

"Can't hold this forever, Nick!"

Nick, in the meanwhile had brought up his fighter a little behind Vishnu's...

"Hold...Left! Now!"

Nick fired a missile. Vishnu's fighter narrowly avoided it, resulting in a direct impact on the fighter, instantly killing it.

"What the hell...next time let me know before torping something, Nick" Vish said acerbically.

"Three more, Vish. You can kick my ass later..."

"Make that two more, Falkland" Henry put in. A flaming enemy fighter was descending into the jungle canopy below.

This isn't too bad...

"We've got the advantage now..combine fire, let's end these bastards!"

The remaining two fighters collapsed under the steady fire of sixteen cannons...

"Alright, What now?" Samantha asked? Her voice sounded...excited. She probably enjoyed this. Hell, I did.

"We should contact the Spaceport, tell them about this..." Vishnu said.

"Right, will do that" Nick answered. He proceeded to do just that...and was met with static. Nick tapped at his console in frustration, but all military commlinks were down.

"Falkland, I'm seeing more of those anomalies on radar, headed towards us", Henry said, still calm in all this madness. Nick was certainly not calm. He looked at his radar, and sure enough, at least eight signatures were heading their way.

For fuck's sake...

* * *

**A/N: Well that took a while to write. Next chapter will continue the battles over Eden Prime. Hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Been sick lately. Sorry for the late update. Also, I'm on the lookout for a beta, so if you think you want to help me in this regard, feel free to send me a PM. Thanks.**

* * *

"Eight signatures headed our way, Falkland" Henry repeated.

_Does he have to repeat how screwed we're gonna get? _Nick thought irritably. They were fresh pilots, barely out of training, and their CO had been shot down in the first ten seconds of battle. They were facing fighters whose targeting was certainly...unnatural, and they had _no idea what they were fighting against._Tac-comm had remained silent. In fact, all comms seemed down and out. Probably some sort of jamming field. That probably meant that no communications would get through while the battle was going on...

Which meant no backup was going to arrive. They were on their own out there, and Nick was supposed to keep their bacon from frying. Bacon which was hanging a precious few millimeters above the fire at this point. He had no idea what to do, and he certainly did not have the experience to make a good call in these circumstances. The easiest thing to do, and the safest route, would be to fight and hold this airspace until they were shot down. Orders followed to the letter.

It also amounted to doing nothing. That went against everything his family had stood for. Falklands had a history of serving, at least one per generation. His Uncle had served, and while a wide-eyed young Nicholas sat on his lap, he'd tell of their ancestors, of those who had served, first in the US military, then the Systems Alliance when it was formed.

"Falklands have always taken action, Nick" He'd always say. "Bad moves, good moves, but always, we've grabbed the bull by the horns and done _something._Something that we thought was right. Remember that." The young Nicholas would always nod seriously then, and his Uncle would laugh and muss his hair a bit. A lot of years later, Nick really wished that Uncle was here with him now. But at any rate, he'd be a Falkland. The radar started bleeping, there were only a few seconds left before they'd enter range.

Nick took a deep breath, and made his decision.

"We have to leave...get out of here" He said.

"What? No!" Samantha and Vishnu said almost in unison. Henry remained quiet, perhaps waiting for an explanation.

"We...have to run, to get word back to the Alliance about this attack. There isn't much we can do here now..."

"And leave the people here at the mercy of...whatever they are? That'd go against everything I signed up for" Vishnu said testily.

Nick found himself getting angry. He knew that they had valid points, but he had made his call, and was going to stick to it, damn them all.

"You think I'm fucking _happy _to leave the fight? Look around you! It's us four against probably a full planetary invasion. There's no alliance comms anywhere, we're alone! We'll be doing the people no favors by dying here...And we're probably the last hope of getting word out before the colony is completely destroyed."

"We swore an oath to _protect and defend these people, _Nicholas" Samantha said. She no longer sounded so sure of herself now. Nick's radar started beeping harder. Fighters were almost on top of them now. They had to move or engage. Immediately.

"He's right" Henry suddenly said. "It'll be the smarter move, and do more good in the long run."

_That's a shot out of the fucking blue..._Nick thought.

"Fine...doesn't mean I have to like it though" Vishnu finally said. Samantha said nothing beyond a slight huff. Nick took that for acceptance. He breathed in slightly...

"Alright then, Hit the damned gas! Full throttle, 80 degrees! We're outta here!"

The four fighters turned and flew upwards, increasing speed. Nick found himself crushed against his seat. Even with the inertial dampeners, the full speed of a F-81 was no mean task. one thousand klicks per hour...twelve hundred clicks per hour...

"They're still on us!" Vishnu said sharply. Shots went flying past Nick's ship, enemies were still chasing them.

"More throttle!" Nick said.

Fifteen hundred clicks per hour...eighteen hundred clicks per hour...

"We're capped out..." Henry said.

_This is as fast as we can go..._Nick thought. Even at this speed, the pursuit showed no signs of falling behind, and while their aim was erratic at this speed, they were closing distance...slowly, but surely. Stopping to engage would just stall them while enemy backup arrived...Shots started pinging off his hull. Nick cursed heavily and swung his ship to the left. The pursuers were throwing out fire hard and fast now...shields at 40% and falling.

"Shields don't look too good" Henry said, with a slight edge of nervousness in his voice...

"Hit the eezo and do a FTL jump, now!" Nick said hoarsely.

"Are you fucking crazy? That's against regs..." Vishnu replied.

So they were. And for good reason. Using eezo cores in planetary atmosphere would mean that, inadvertently, some eezo particles would make their way to the surface, with all the resultant complications. Biotics were the good outcome of that event...while death was the bad one. All modern militaries considered it severely irresponsible and had banned it. Not to mention the complications in using a FTL drive in an atmosphere.

"There's no time for the bloody regs, Vishnu! We need to save this planet's bacon, and I wont let a damned rule get in the way...do it" Nick said finally. He did not like it, but he was following his gut since they had started this terrible day, and he would follow it to the end.

"Engaging FTL..."

The four fighters shook as blue auras covered them, the tell-tale sign of an eezo core in the works. Energy crackled, and the rapid decrease in mass led to the fighters quickly leaving their pursuers behind...

* * *

"Fuck me, I'm never doing this again..." Nick said groggily. The regs had failed to mention that an eezo jump in an atmosphere was a _terrible ride._His companions were not doing much better. Samantha sounded woozy, and Vishnu sounded like he'd puke his insides out at any moment. Even Henry sounded shaken. But they were clear. Eden Prime glowed in the distance behind them, they had cleared the planet..which meant that they had escaped the worst. Nick couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself, considering the situation. They were alive and flying at least, except for MacArthur...Nick knew that old bastard would survive though. His ship had only lost a wing and MacArthur had ejected in time...

"Agreed" Vishnu said. He seemed to be getting over his illness, but was not out of danger yet.

"Looks like that insane plan actually worked, Falkland" Henry said acidly.

"I didn't notice..." Nick drawled.

Henry was on the verge of an equally acidic reply when Vishnu cut in.

"I can hear some comm traffic now, distant, but it's there" He said quickly.

_Huh? _"Clear it up Vish, It'd be good to have some inkling of what the fuck is going on."

"Working on it..." Vishnu said absently. He was good at this kind of thing, Nick had observed. He was still trying to get a feel for his squadron mentally, but Vishnu had already taken residence as a tech expert. A few minutes passed, punctuated by bursts of static that receded and increased as Vishnu tampered with frequencies. Finally, something legible came through in transmissions.

"-Mandy, Captain Anderson speaking. Does anyone read? I repeat, does anyone read?"

"Anderson is _here?_" Samantha said, gasping in what seemed like awe.

_What the fuck...Captain fucking Anderson is here, already? How...?  
_

"Maybe we should respond, Nick" Henry said dryly.

Nicholas smirked at that but made no reply. Handling communication controls, he soon had a channel open to Anderson.

"Uh...Captain? This is Alliance wing Sabre from Eden Prime...Flight Ensign Nicholas Falkland speaking."

There was a brief pause, then a short remark, too low for Nick to hear. It was a familiar voice though...he couldn't quite place it. Then the Captain replied. His voice was suitable for a man of his stature, strong and authoritative, yet companionable.

"Falkland...we saw a distress signal and know of the situation. Can you tell us any more?"

_A squadron of greens versus a planetary invasion and we nearly got our asses kicked. _Nick could not voice this aloud though.

"We were following normal patrol patterns when unidentified fighter craft attacked us. Squadron Leader MacArthur was shot down in the fight, but we decided to beat it to carry word of this...invasion back to the Alliance" He said instead, voice uncertain. He was talking to a walking legend, a hero. What would he think of their retreat...?

"Good thinking, Falkland. Normandy's only here by coincidence, we were scheduled for our shakedown cruise to Eden Prime...are there any more fighting on the ground?"

Nick exhaled forcefully. He'd been way too tense over what the Captain would think.

"We didn't pick up anything. Aurora base seems to be down, no communications from there...who the heck attacked us?"

There was a short pause.

"We don't know yet. The distress call showed a dreadnought class vessel of an unknown specification. We dropped in a ground team under Commander Shepard to investigate..." Anderson said.

_Whaaaaaaaaaaat? First Anderson, now Shepard?_

"What the..." Henry said in utter disbelief. The others weren't doing much better, Vishnu's voice seemed strangled and there was a sharp intake of breath from Samantha. Nick vowed that he'd keep his cool and not let his surprise show...

"What the fuck is going on?" He said.

_Way to go, Falkland.  
_  
Thankfully, Anderson seemed more amused than anything else. "As to what is going on..I suppose there's little need for secrecy now. We were here to retrieve a prothean beacon that had been uncovered on Eden Prime. From all I can gather, that's the target of these invaders as well..."

"So that's what all the excavation was about..." Henry said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked sharply. Henry's response was almost languid in it's arrogance.

"Perhaps if you'll pay more attention to your patrol path, you'd know. I studied them, we go right over that excavation."

"Enough! We know the situation now, and retrieving the beacon is _priority. _I need your wing to go back to the ground, provide air support to Shepard's ground team. If the bacon falls into the wrong hands, the consequences will be...dire."

"I...guess you're right" Nick replied.

"I am. We've warned Alliance command of the situation here but their fleets won't get here in time. It's up to us. Do your duty, Falkland" Anderson said firmly. The man had a certain undeniable charisma about him, for sure. For some reason, Nick felt more resolute than he had since this started. He gripped the controls firmly in both hands.

"Sabre wing, back to the ground. I'm transmitting a vector. Let's kick some ass" He said.

"Damn straight!" Samantha said, almost eagerly. This was infinitely preferable to her than running away from the fight, Nick realized. The four fighters swung around and prepared to enter Eden Prime's atmosphere...

* * *

They were impaling people on spikes.

Ashley Williams tried not to think of that as she ran. The dead bodies of people she knew, Edward and Maya and Connors...all impaled and turned into...monsters. And now they were after her. Already, the whizzing of drones could be heard as they flew around, hunting down stragglers. There was a rocky outcrop in sight...just...had to get to it...somehow. She willed herself to run faster, and somehow...she did.

The beeping of drones got closer and more insistent, and Ashley rolled into cover just before their cannons started whirring, firing rounds designed to pierce through armor and shield alike. Those shots pinged harmlessly off the rock...for now. She collapsed against the rock and panted, winded from the run. Alone and hunted. Her squad was gone. Nirali and the others. She just hoped that they would not be put on the spikes...

Shaking her head, she peeked around her cover and fired a burst from her rifle. A drone fizzled, cracked, and exploded. One down...many to go. At least the foot soldiers were not here. These drones were scouts, but not too great at shooting. Small mercies. They would probably be here any moment now...finishing off stragglers. Ashley would be damned before she let them make her a straggler. She took a deep breath and bit her lip...

Then charged out of cover and began laying down fire with her assault rifle. Drone after drone went down, and Ashley was screaming at them, to die and stay the fuck _dead. _A few moments of intense gunfire, and it was over. The drones were a pile of scrap metal now. There was time to breath for a moment...

The earth shook, slightly. Ashley raised her head, and gasped. At least ten of their foot soldiers were coming her way, on the rocky outcrop...and in the middle was a giant tripodal structure of a kind she had not seen before. It seemed like...a tank of some kind. It's long head swung this way and that, seeking targets...locking on her. Ashley barely dived back into cover as the tank fired a large ball of energy. It hit against the stone wall protecting her, knocking large chunks off. End of the line.

"God above, grant me mercy and a place in your halls after I die..."

There was a faint sound from behind her. Turning her head, she saw small lights in the sky, and they were closing in fast. Enemy fighters, maybe?

The tank was preparing another shot, and this one would break her shoddy cover...All was still, and quiet.

The sound of cannon fire from the sky broke it. Ashley braced for an impact...that never came. She looked up, and saw cannon fire riddling the tank. It shook as it's kinetic barriers were depleted in an inkling, then tumbled from the impact. The foot soldiers around it were scrambling around, looking for cover, trying to fire up at their assailant. They were utterly destroyed by cannons that dug into the earth itself and rooted them out.

"What the hell...?" Ashley said, looking up. She saw the source. Fighters, four of them. They quickly zoomed past her position and then veered up. Enemy fighters were already scrambling in pursuit, but Ashley smiled. She was not alone...someone fought, still. She decided to take this chance to get to a better position, and started running. There was still hope.

* * *

"Enemy division eliminated", Henry said clinically. He was probably the only one who was still in control of his emotions.

"I got that damn armature right in it's damned head", Samantha replied. In contrast, she was probably the one most excited by this.

"Alright, alright, we've gotten rid of some of those damn fuckers, but they're scrambling wings. Go dangle the bait and stay evasive. We have to buy time and stay alive for as long as possible..." Nick cut through their banter, issuing orders. They were doing good so far, but still outnumbered in the air. "Henry, go lure. Samantha and I will trap the stragglers and eat them up. Vish, fly support, keep an eye out for everything and don't let them crawl up on our six."

His orders were curtly acknowledged, and Henry swung around to meet approaching hostiles. His flying was precise and measured, he'd have a good chance on the evasive. Nick swung around, looking for fighters that separated from the main group. In a few moments, he saw an opportunity, and cross-fire from him and Samantha had the fighter smoking and falling out of the sky.

"Can you locate Shepard or any ground teams, Vish?" Nick asked.

"Negative, Scramblers are destroying my chances, don't see anyth-...wait."

"Out with it!" Nick said sharply.

"I'm seeing an eezo core activation. But the readings are...off the charts."

"Dreadnought class?" Henry interjected quickly.

"Dreadnoughts can't land on planets..." Nick began, but was cut off.

"Readings seem to be..._much _larger than typical Dreadnought classes..." Vish said faintly, surprise evident.

_Shit, now there's a dreadnought. Maybe I should've stuck to farming..._ Nick thought wryly.

"Swing about. We'll go see what that's about" He said aloud.

There was a short silence.

"Someday I'll kill you Falkland" Henry said acidly at last. He couldn't be blamed for being unhappy about the entire deal.

"Be my damned guest", Nick said pleasantly, and punched in a vector. Surprisingly, the fighters did not press the attack, instead changing direction and head for the dreadnought class signature.

"Seems like they're leaving..." Samantha said.

"Good for us. We still need to find out what kind of dreadnought can land on a fucking planet though...hit the throttle. Anything we get might help us later..." Nick replied.

The signature wasn't far. They were soon closing in...and saw it.

"Sweet mother of god..." Henry said, truly shaken. The dreadnought was truly massive, at least two kilometres long, with multiple leg like appendages extending from a main superstructure...lightning was coursing around it, red arcs...it was taking off. Nick could feel a faint buzzing in his head, growing steadily sharper as they closed.

The enemy fighters were docking with the dreadnought, now hovering a few kilometres above the ground. Red lightning became more intense, and it's 'legs' relaxed from their curled position...

"HUMAN. YOU HAVE CHANGED NOTHING."

There was a sharp searing pain in Nick's head, then blackness...

* * *

**A/N: That took a while...It might seem a little rough, sorry about that. Wanted to get a move on since the story has been stagnant for so long. Anyways, R&R please. :-)**


End file.
